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Conservation of momentum on a zero-friction floor

Physics Asked by M.Taki_Eddine on October 3, 2021

If we have an object of a certain mass that’s moving on a non-friction floor with a certain velocity v, and we suppose that at some point we take off half of the mass of that object, does the velocity increase to 2v – since the system is closed so the momentum is supposed to be conserved – , and if it does, how so? regarding the fact that the net force is zero and an increase in velocity means a presence of non zero force!

2 Answers

If an object is moving with velocity $v$ and you slice it in half perpendicular to the plane of the floor, each piece moves with velocity $v$ and thus horizontal momentum is conserved since the force is perpendicular to the floor. If there’s a spontaneous breakup such as an explosion, then the final momenta of the pieces depends on the force that each piece exerts on the other. If there’s a third object moving in a horizontal plane that hits the object, splitting it in half, then the total horizontal momentum of the pieces will definitely not be $2v$, since now there is an external force on the system in consideration (I.e. the original object that breaks into two).

TL; DR: How you break the object in half matters.

Correct answer by saad on October 3, 2021

Momentum is only conserved for a closed system. If you remove half the mass of a system, it is not closed.

Answered by Michael Seifert on October 3, 2021

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